HBO developing Game of Thrones sequel series about Jon Snow

Image: Game of Thrones/HBO
Image: Game of Thrones/HBO

HBO enters early development on a Game of Thrones sequel series about Jon Snow, with Kit Harington returning to reprise his role!

“You know nothing about HBO’s post-Game of Thrones plans,” begins longtime Game of Thrones reporter James Hibberd, before dropping a Westerosi bombshell on us. From anyone else, I would doubt the words I read next. But with this source, there can be no doubt that the mind-blowing story you’re about to read is true.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, HBO has entered into early development on its first Game of Thrones sequel series. This new spinoff will be a live-action series centered around Jon Snow, with Kit Harington attached to reprise his iconic Thrones role should HBO decide to move forward.

When last we saw Jon Snow, he had gone into exile with the Night’s Watch after the fateful journey south that resulted in him tragically killing Daenerys Targaryen, and was last seen riding with wildings north of the Wall. Over the course of the series, he was a bastard recruit of the Night’s Watch, a commander, a king, and a warrior who united disparate peoples to fight off the army of the dead. His was one of the most incredible journeys in all of Game of Thrones…but what happened to him after he went beyond the Wall? Did he join the wildlings to live in peace? Was he just escorting them north before returning to Castle Black? Or will he return to Westeros as Aegon Targaryen, last of his bloodline?

Game of Thrones spinoff about Jon Snow in development

Honestly, it’s almost hard to wrap my head around this news. The possibilities are insane, not just because a Jon Snow sequel series would continue the story of Game of Thrones, but because it would also open the door for other characters to reappear. Arya set sail to explore the world; what’s to stop her from visiting beyond the Wall? Sansa is Queen in the North; might she one day need the diplomatic aid of her brother to deal with wildlings? There’s just so much HBO could do with the series.

It’s no secret that HBO has a lot of Game of Thrones projects in various stages of development, which makes it all the more impressive that this series wasn’t even rumored before this point. The first Game of Thrones successor show, House of the Dragonis due out this August. It’s a prequel which covers the brutal Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, which took place some 200 years before Game of Thrones.

Beyond that, there’s 10,000 Ships, a series about the warrior queen Nymeria; 9 Voyages (or Sea Snake), which details the early adventures of the famed mariner Coryls Velaryon; and a Dunk and Egg series which would adapt George R.R. Martin’s beloved novellas about Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg. HBO also reportedly has three animated series in development, including one about Yi Ti called The Golden Empire.

But a Jon Snow sequel series? Now that’s one we never saw coming, and by the old gods and the new is it exciting!

The announcement of this Jon Snow sequel series is the first time HBO has shown a willingness to go beyond the story established in Game of Thrones. If it actually gets made, and succeeds, who knows where it may lead? These are uncharted wilds as untamed as the tundra far beyond the Wall.

For today, all we know is that Kit Harington may be returning as Jon Snow, and HBO is poised to develop the first sequel to one of the greatest fantasy television sagas of all time.

Our watch begins again.

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